This is a history of the social hygiene movement from its genesis through its early history, 1900-1921. It is an interpretive social history focused on a social political process involving shifting coalitions among physicians, public health leaders, the woman's movement and business, leading to the formation of the American Social Hygiene Association. The researcher will employ the methods of social history, working between theory as a heuristic guide and empirical actuality. The study is a "new institutional history," in the Weberian tradition. As social history, methodologies of the social sciences are utilized. Sociology, anthropology and political science are most significant for a cross-disciplinary approach. Since the social hygiene movement concerned itself with the repression of prostitution, the control of venereal diseases and social control, it is highly important for the understanding of the relatedness of medicine and public health to society. The underlying assumptions about sexuality and its relatedness to society are critical to the understanding of the nature of the society constructed. With venereal diseases again reaching epidemic proportions, it is important to know how this health problem was managed in the past, as a preliminary step in formulating new social policies. This work is a continuation of earlier studies by the researcher and will serve as a stepping stone to future studies.